Amongst the ancient ports that ring the Mediterranean, the city of Carthage is particularly steeped in history. Now a seaside district of modern Tunis, Tunisia, it was founded in the 9th century BC by Phoenician settlers who travelled across the sea from Tyre, in what is now modern Lebanon, in search of trade. Carthage went on to be among the most prosperous of the Roman age. Even now, impeccably preserved mosaics and artefacts discovered in the ruins of Roman villas are available to view up close at the National Museum of Bardo in the North African capital.
It was this history that inspired the newly opened exhibition, 'Carthagisme,' at Lamia Bousnina Gallery in Tunis. 'Carthage was always an important point on the Mediterranean,' explains Milan-based curator Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte, who was tapped by Lamia Bousnina Benayed to organise the show. 'It’s been subject to so many different influences and layers of civilisations. The Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Ottomans and even the Crusades. It’s created a very hybrid society.'
